My experience with new co...sm

break in experience [2008-08-29]
A typewriter - don't even want to think of that. Did you have to take any courses or just did well on the test? I find I do well on the tests but the flub the interview kind of discouraging

Anyone with experience using ShortKeys expander and [2008-08-25]
does anyone know if FlashType is compatible with ChartMatrix?

Just my experience.. I get less sick when I am working in the car. [2008-08-25]
I think it is because I am concentrating on my typing and computer than looking up. I love being able to work traveling down the road. For me, I'd rather be making good money while traveling instead of sleeping. Heck, as much as it costs to fill up the gas tank, we have to offset it somehow. As far as the other poster says about hitting bumps, hitting wrong keys etc.. I haven't had that problem. I actually bought a portable desktop board that I set everything on so it stablizes my work area.

Bad place, my experience [2008-08-22]
So many negatives in my experience at SS, I could write a book. It took 6 weeks between setup and training date, because I'm guessing someone dropped the ball. Trainer warned I might get lots of error messages on the platform, but just keep clicking through them until it works. I had so many error messages I couldn't get much work done = no income. No response to emails. I quit after 2 weeks, and you should see the completely unprofessional email I received from HR director after my resignation. Their software platform was very user friendly, but I had so many error messages, stuck voice files, MS Word errors, bad audio files, reports (& line counts) lost after QA reviewed them - and no response to my emails asking for help. Does this company employ irresponsible support staff, or is there no response to emails because they have no solutions to the problems? I don't know.

My experience with expanders and clinic sm [2008-08-20]
work has been that they usually want things verbatim and nothing expanded so my Expander actually sometimes is more trouble than it's worth on this particular work type. Of course, it depends on your account specifics. It's probably good for physical exams and consistent phrases for particular dictators?

With 33 years' experience, I agree. It doesn't sm [2008-08-20]
get any easier, because there is a constant influx of ESLs into this country who can barely make themselves understood. If you want to translate, yes, translate, and transcribe pidgeon English day in and day out, make less and less money as the years go by, then this is the career for you. I used to love what I do. It used to be rewarding. Now I feel like I'm following behind elephants with a shovel.

Kind of scared of Ebay, no experience with them. [2008-08-12]
The cost differential makes them quite desirable. My only concern is reliability, but at these prices, I'm willing to give ebay a try. Thanks for your responses.

It has been my experience..sm [2008-08-09]
that typing speed, while important, is not the greatest determining factor of how quicky one can reach 1000 lpd. It depends greatly upon the platform, dictators and whether one has a good expansion program. Instant Text has been a life saver for me and works with any platform that I have ever used. The key is to build your expansion program daily. I have been in the business for almost 20 years and still add at least a couple of expansions daily. Hang in there!

No Experience jobs/Deciding to go 2 school. [2008-08-09]
Hello everyone. I am trying to make up my mind on going to a MT training class.I have a few questions that i hope someone can help me with. 1.Is most of the work being sent overseas? 2.Are there any work at home companies that hire new grads,or would I have to work in a hospital...and is(hospital) and option with no experience? 3.If I can find a wah job how much should I plan on saving for equipment? 4.What is normal pay as a newbie.I know that it depends on the company,but what is average? Thanks for any help that you all can provide.

Well I don't know anything with all my years experience because I only transcribe clinic work .. [2008-07-29]
Other than that, I see quite a few replies to your original message so hmmm

Two yrs experience and ready to move on. [2008-06-30]
I'm looking to move into acute care but am having the same problem as others - little acute care exp. I've searched but most state they require at least 2 yrs acute care exp. I've found one company, Amphion, that has clinic and acute care so I could get my foot in the door doing clinic then move over in the future but I know nothing about them. Any ideas on other companies that have both clinic and acute care would be appreciated. I'm so ready to move on. Thanks.

Acute care position with clinic experience??? [2008-06-26]
Can anyone help or advise me? I have 3 years of clinic experience, but I would like to break in to acute care. It seems like I run into the same brick wall that I ran into with no experience. Does anyone have any leads or advice as to acquiring acute care employment with clinic experience only? What do I need to do? Thanks.

Yes, same experience here too. [2008-06-17]
I think that is a smart move for you to make, returning to school to obtain a degree. Working at home is wonderful, but yes it does cause isolation. At one time I could drive anywhere, but not anymore. I am afraid to drive too far from home. I am not one to take medication, but would rather work on the problem in a natural way. I have a dog, and that gets me out of the house. I take her to the dog part a few times a week, and this is also a good way to meet other people. I notice that when I am out among other people, I talk constantly. It is very lonely working at home, but I do enjoy and work best by myself.

I had a good experience with them [2008-06-12]
I had no trouble with the audio portion, got almost 99% on it. I signed on with one of their companies in 3 days' time, start date June 30. Now my dream of leaving MQ is a reality with a company paying more than MQ, no ASR, 10% ESL! Can't wait!

great answers! Thank you both for your input and experience. [2008-06-12]
x

Need a mentor- I have 13 yrs experience [2008-06-10]
Hi- I am an experienced subcontractor with over 13 years experience in varying fields....I am going to be getting a divorce within the next year or so and in order to be able to provide my children with a better life I really want to start my own service. I have questions regarding how to get my own FTP site and whether it is my responsibility to provide physicians with their own handhelds, etc. I don't want to be a big competitive business, but just a small service that will provide my family with adequate finances, possibly eventually hiring one or two transcriptionists to help. If anyone would be willing to advise me I would appreciate it so much. Thanks in advance

I had exact experience... sm [2008-06-07]
I did fine on the test questions but the transcription was muffled and I listened to it over and over forhours and still failed that portion of the test. I was not allowed to make excuses or to retake. The test was the most in-depth I had ever run into. Anyway, I took a test for one of the companies the matchmaker was testing me for, and I'm now working for them.

Don't waste your time, with your experience, you don't need those initials (nm) [2008-06-07]
nm

Someone with 30 years experience does not need CMT after their name. [2008-06-07]

My experience [2008-06-03]
I've only spent six months working for one company, and in that time had 1primary with 2 secondaries, that each eventually became my primary for a short time. I could not get line count. Would have to work 12 hours to hit 1000 lines, and that was with Edit mode jobs included. I've 7 years experience with my main income doing transcription for one hospital in 8 departments doing pretty much all work types; the home transcription was a side job tobring in extra money since I already know transcription. My experience showed me that there is too much politics in the companies and that if you want to make any real money, you will have tofigure out how to become an independent independent contractor, i.e. going out and finding your own physicians to type for. Upon researching one service, I discovered that the company charges the physician under contract 22 cents a line. This may not be universal, but it opened my eyes considerably.

May be my limited experience, but [2008-06-02]
I like the platform. I worked for local doctors in WordPerfect before this, but I have worked in InScribe for two years, through two versions, and beta tested this current version. I like everything about it except for the lousy AutoText. It's too much trouble to enter individual shortcuts....have to save a list of 20 or 30 to make it worth your time to add them. Other than that, I'm satisfied.

Here is my experience [2008-06-02]
Because I am on a team with seasoned MTs, and we are able to have this account as a primary. This decision led us have this account solely and for three years of doing a very fine job (and making some very fine money with recently 100% quality ) the hospital to expand its business. So, in the end, out co. benefitted for it.

my experience with this is... [2008-05-28]
My darling son who is now 18 years old and hates me anyway has managed to tell everybody in the last few months that his wonderful dad had to work 2 jobs to support our family because I never would work when he was growing up - I worked 10P-4A for 10 years, so of course he never saw me work when he was little and was the main moneymaker for our family!!!

I have to say with just over a year's experience, I'd be more willing to hang on. sm [2008-05-22]
Typically I would say it is a sign and move on. However, with your experience your options are limited as most companies want more experience under your belt. It wouldn't hurt to look while you wait to get set up and see if you can land another job and then move on, but I would not throw in the towel without having the other one first.

My experience (somewhat lengthy) [2008-05-21]
I decided to make the switch from qwerty keyboard to steno about seven years ago and don't regret it. My hourly line counts right now range 350 and up, although I expect that to improve with speedbuilding. Using a steno machine has been much easier on my hands/body, and I used a qwerty keyboard for years before that. None of us are getting any younger, and we need all the help we can get! However, you do need to be aware of startup expenses, and time invested learning steno theory and speedbuilding. Like going to school to be an MT, learning to use steno is not cheap, it's not easy, and it takes time. Court reporting schools have a high dropout rate (I remember reading it was around 70%). For a decent used steno machine, count on $400 and up. New CAT software costs about $4000 and up. Then you have your educational materials; I'm guessing for those I invested somewhere between $500 and $1000 several years ago, and this was by a self-taught approach, which I would not recommend. At this point, you may be asking yourself why you would even consider looking into doing this. Speaking for myself, I have watched MT earnings decline over the years, as well as just the general lack of respect for the job we do, and so I am doing this for my future. With court reporting technology, there are a myriad of related fields you can go into such as broadcast captioning, CART, etc. You can find much information by googling, but here are some links for more information: National Court Reporters Association http://www.ncraonline.org J*M Steno (court reporting sales/service/training) http://www.jmsteno.com/ Court Reporting Help.com http://www.courtreportinghelp.com The Steno Life http://www.stenolife.com/ Keith Vincent's website http://www.kvincent.com/ Joe Clark.org http://joeclark.org/ Good luck!

So, tell me about HBO Star [2008-09-07]
Just wondering if anyone has experience with HBO Star (radiology at Keystrokes) and what to expect. Also, I thought I read somewhere that you can't browse the internet with HBO Star and the VPN? What?? Thanks for the info...

Job apps [2008-09-05]
I have sent in some resumes to a few companies on the Job Seeker's board. I have over 15 years experience. I haven't heard back from any of them. Just wondering if this happens to anyone else???

Maybe they figure... [2008-09-05]
An interesting experiment might be to submit a resume & say you have 2 years' experience.

so is there such thing as a black list? [2008-09-03]
I just got cut loose and I was only with them for two weeks. I had never used escription/editscribe and that was mainly only thing I was struggling with. I was finally I think getting it and I have two years experience in transcription. Is it legal for a company you sign wi6ht to only give you two weeks? Always thought they were suppose to give someone a month. Especially if you have never used the platform/software and never really got any good training on it. I have put resumes out for many companies needing help and I have not heard anything back. Is there such thing as a black list if so how do I see or find out if my name is on it? If anyone knows how please let me know thanks!

CMT [2008-09-03]
It does not make you a better MT. It just makes you more poor than you already are. The CMT behind your name just means you fell for the hype and maybe you are trying to make up for your lack of experience???? A lot of supervisors get their CMT to walk the walk and talk the talk.

LLC/INC - has no benefit to me [2008-09-03]
but, company wants that in place to do prn work. Does anyone see the benefit of this??? It will cost me several hundred dollars to set it up, plus the separate income tax filing, etc. Anyone with experience here? I am one person, not a company and I don't understand the reasoning.

Any opinions on All N One Wave Transcriber? [2008-09-03]
I am looking for a new transcriber software kit. The All N One Wave Transcriber by Martel Electronics looks good but they don't have a free trial download. I don't want to buy without knowing anything about it. I need something that I can see all the files that have been downloaded to me and that I can listen to and name file by file.I have a doctor that many times does not complete the dictationin one sitting - may continue it days later. I need to be able tosearch through files tosee ifI have the continuations or not. Most, from what I have found, don't have this option. I haveSony's Digital Voice Editor and love it but reallydislike thepedal so am trying to find something similar in another software.Does anyone out there have experience with this software and pedal (All N One)? Thanks in advance for any advice.

The day they force me [2008-09-03]
get certification, CMT or whatever, is the day I retire. Totally ridiculous. What, someone with 20+ years experience is suddenly notqualified without some lettersbehind their name? Please.

why is AHDI so anti American MT [2008-09-02]
they seem completely out of touch with MTs, as evidenced in my personal experience and from reading so many posts on this board alone. I have never seen such misrepresentation of a profession...and they seem to have not even an inkling to bridge the gap; in fact, they seem to go out of their way to make the bridge even wider. we need some representation on behalf of all MTs from the 'old school,' as we should be grandfathered in to any kind of mandatory certification, if it comes to that; but we definitely need an advocate on OUR side. I see a lot of condescending remarks (and worse) from CMTs on this site against we regular MTs and it proves the point that there is a huge injustice going on with that organization and their disrespect of the 'little' guys here who are losing more and more money every year. I just heard overall American wages have dropped from $7500 a year gained from the 1990s to 2000 lower to date, and dropping, which is over 9000 a year. utilites are sky-rocketing, food prices, (need I go on?)... now of ALL times to try to enforce any more financial hardship on MTs (while at the same time lowering costs for overseas MTs) not only shows complete lack of knowledge about the realities we face, but extreme disrespect toward us. WE should be priority, not overseas MTs but US. this is not a game people...this is serious, and no one should be able to mess with anyone else's livelihood in such ways as I have seen in this profession alone over the last decade especially.

I don't want recognition. I want/need MONEY! [2008-09-02]
If you want mandatory credentialling, then do something about the pay range for MTs! 8 cpl does not cut it when you consider the knowledge and education requiredfor a qualified MT. Coders in the midwest (where I live) who have their CCS make $20/hr with little to no experience! Do not forone minute compare the CMT to the CCS!! AHIMA is taking care of its coders, making sure coders and records techs are acknowledged for their expertise in the heath information industry and compensated for achieving their credentials. The ADHI only wants our money. They have done absolutely nothing for the MT who is credentialed --- 8 cpl or 9 cpl!?!?!!? --- does that sound like we are highly regarded health information professionals to you?

This whole organization is a crock [2008-09-02]
Someone has to pay for all their travel, first class all the way. I am still shaking my head i amazement about the one biggie in the organization who got his CMT with only 1 year of at home training doing office notes - no hospital experience, etc. This shows how truly worthless the whole certification process is. Credentialing should reflect adequate training in all areas of the profession, and it certainly degrades the title if someone was able to get certified by doing doctor office/clinic notes.

I agree. MTIA is not a government organization. Credentialing comes from state government and [2008-09-02]
sometimes at the federal level. This mandatory credentialing is ludicrous and a scheme to make money, in my humble opinion. I have to agree with the other poster, if not having CMT after my name after 25 years of experience prevents me from being employable, I have a very good lawyer who will take up my cause!!!

Thanks!!! [2008-09-01]
Meant to says thanks to you as well. I am not new to transcription, only proudcution. Most of previous experience was in an office at an hourly rate and I NEED as much help as I can get. Thanks again!

yes typewriter [2008-08-30]
My terminology came from nursing school and then from experience. I don't believe there were MT schools back then.

FastFox and Shortkeys [2008-08-30]
are the 2 that I'm considering. You can download trials and try them out before buying. FastFox is $29.99 and Shortkeys is $19.99. They both work on all the same platforms as the more expensive ones do as well. These are both regular licenses (not just for1 year). Also, FlashType is around $50, but I have no experience with that myself. I was ready to purchase Shortkeys, but when my work computer arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Instant Text Pro V was installed on it.

Swift Text or cheaper expander info please [2008-08-29]
I was wondering if anyone uses Swift Text Expander or any other cheaper Expanders (if there are any). I am going to start doing some IC work besides my full-time job. I am going to be paid hourly but I would like an expander just because I am so used to using it now I would be lost withoutit. I currently use what is built into my work system now and do not any experience with others. I am only going to do this extra work minimally so didn't know if it would be worth investing in a more expensive expander or if I could get by with a cheaper one. Any info/ideas would be appreciated. Thanksin advance for any info.

Same position longer time [2008-08-29]
Hi I am in the same position. I have about 10 years experience, but it was 14 years ago. Now coming back I am finding if I do o.k. on a test I get hired. Some things have changed for sure and the job is lower paid, but somewhat easier than doing it on a typewriter and having a doc say oh go back and change such and such meaning you had to type the whole thing over. Computers are much easier. Although we were paid by the hour then, this is my first time paid by the line.

this is also interesting info for newcomers... [2008-08-28]
From the same link: **Check out the last paragraph... Apprenticeship from the US Department of Labor - is that also for overseas MTs? Education and training. Employers prefer to hire transcriptionists who have completed postsecondary training in medical transcription offered by many vocational schools, community colleges, and distance-learning programs. Completion of a 2-year associate degree or 1-year certificate program�including coursework in anatomy, medical terminology, legal issues relating to health care documentation, and English grammar and punctuation�is highly recommended, but not always required. Many of these programs include supervised on-the-job experience. Some transcriptionists, especially those already familiar with medical terminology from previous experience as a nurse or medical secretary, become proficient through refresher courses and training. Formal accreditation is not required for medical transcription programs. However, the Approval Committee for Certificate Programs (AACP)�established by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) and the American Health Information Management Association�offers voluntary accreditation for medical transcription programs. Although voluntary, completion of an ACCP approved program may be required for transcriptionists seeking certification. Certification and other qualifications. The AHDI awards two voluntary designations, the Registered Medical Transcriptionist (RMT) and the Certified Medical Transcriptionist (CMT). Medical transcriptionists who are recent graduates of medical transcription educational programs, or have fewer than 2 years experience in acute care, may become a registered RMT. The RMT credential is awarded upon successfully passing the AHDI level 1 registered medical transcription exam. The CMT designation requires at least 2 years of acute care experience working in multiple specialty surgery areas using different format, report, and dictation types. Candidates also must earn a passing score on a certification examination. Because medicine is constantly evolving, medical transcriptionists are encouraged to update their skills regularly. RMTs and CMTs must earn continuing education credits every 3 years to be recertified. As in many other fields, certification is recognized as a sign of competence **Graduates of an ACCP approved program who earn the RMT credential are eligible to participate in the Registered Apprenticeship Program sponsored by the Medical Transcription Industry Association through the U.S. Department of Labor. The Registered Apprenticeship program offers structured on-the-job learning and related technical instruction for qualified medical transcriptionists entering the profession

quick question [2008-08-28]
I am a MT with a total of 15 years experience, unfortunately I took a five year break and am having trouble getting on with the national companies. I am working now for a small local company (clinic notes and correspondece only) and an wondering if I need to break down and take an online course and get a certificate. Any suggestions?

Moved: Reply... [2008-08-28]
I think you're having a hard time getting on with the nationals because they want 3-5 years recent experience. I would suggest you keep at it with the clinic notes and try to find a company that does hire newbies, even though we both know you aren't. After a year or 2 back in the biz, you should be able to get in with the nationals. I doubt much that a certificate would help the situation you're in.

Do any Co. Pay good on Emdat [2008-08-27]
It seems that every job I have seen on Emdat/Inscribe is only 7 cpl. Why is this? I have 10+ experience and am sick of being offered only 7 cpl!

Get a good set of speciality [2008-08-26]
reference books, I would recommend Stedman's, not much better than those. It will take some getting used to. My first job was doing PT notes and then jumped to acute care. It is a lot more interesting than clinic notes. Hopefully they will start you out with DS and H&Ps, not op notes. It will take time, but with 9 years experience in a clinic, especially if a multispeciality clinic, you should do fine. GOOD LUCK.

No I'm not making it harder. you shouldn't rely on the 'prompt to save' as your only def [2008-08-26]
Unfortunately, some proprietary platforms seem to run two instances of MSword (as best as I can tell) which prevents you from saving your normal dot. My post was addressed specifically to those who are encountering that problem. An Autoclose/AutoExit macro should save the normal dot for you, and may be the ONLY way you can save it, even if you have selected the prompt for normal save on your options toolbar. In any case, autoclose and/or autoexit macro that saves your normal dot will ensure that most, if not all of your recent autocorrect/autotext/macros present in your normal dot are saved, should you have an unexpected power failure or crash, orif you are using a template that is provided to you by an employer -- a template which may have been programmed in such a way as to prevent your normal dot from being when you exit word. In any case, whether or not the prompt to save normal template is selected really shouldn't affect whether or not the normal is saved, the normal should automatically be saved as you exit MsWord. The fact that normal.dot doesn't always save is, or worse vanishes entirely,is just one of these weird idiosyncracies which sometimes makes word (which really is a pretty wonderful program) so frustrating to use. (Hint, back up your normal.dot -- frequently!) In my experience, the only time that a template reliably does not save is if you are writing macros (as opposed to recording macros) and if you fail to manually save your changes inside your Editor before exiting word. I have had the experience more than once of opening word to find that my newly programmedtemplate is gone -- sometimes representing many hours of work-- and that is where the prompt to savetoolbar option really can be useful. In short, I am fully aware of the prompt to save normal in the options toolbar (and mine is selected to prompt) and if I had thought this wasbest solution for the professional medical transcriptionist,I would not have bothered posting this information in the first place. So to make a long post short: The best solution to make absolutely sure your normal dot is savedis to useautoclose and/or autoexitmacros that instruct word to save your normal template, and don't just depend on the save normal prompt on your toolbar. Regard it as an extra precaution, which is what it really is, don't depend on it, it can get unselected, and poof your normal.dot is gone! For someone who just writes an occasional letter or term paper on with MSword the occasional loss of the normal.dot, albeit aggravating, probably isn't all that serious, but for the MT who depends on her paycheck to support her family, losing her normal dot and its 37,954 autocorrect entries is a real economic hardship. She just might appreciate knowing that there is something she can do to prevent this from happening, even thoughyou happen to think it is complicated. Isn't this forum here to provide fellow MTs with useful information they can use or not as they please?Medical transcription after all, isn't a game or a hobby, it is real grown-up work, and it is prudent to take the time do real grown up things to maintain the tools of the trade. Unlike some posts I have seen, particularly on the word-help forum that just make me want to scream, I will not post useless or wrong information -- even if it is complicated -- after all it's just information. Writing autoclose/autoexit macros to save your normal dot are not pointless or useless exercises; and in any case you can disregard my posts, or not, as you please.

The income problem isn't with EditScript itself SM [2008-08-26]
When I was first switched to EditScript (the part of eScription's 3-part program MT's work on), I built up speed as I learned editing on it. The official staged adjustments in line counts were made as the computer learned the dictators, but as I continued to improve I was making good money at it, a bit better than transcribing. Then inexplicably I started making less and less, as did others I spoke with. My income continued to drop, even as all counts and rates seemed to remain the same as they were reported to us. I tend to be a trusting sort and prone to look first at myself for explanations of problems, and took me some while to recognize and admit that irregularities in my own production just didn't explain the long-term trend in significantly smaller paychecks. My employer undoubtedly had some pressure to try to make things hold together with the hospital I was assigned to because my main account started shifting offshore, not that we were told why we kept running out of work more and more until it reached critical point and they absolutely had to. The lies that came with that last are why I went looking for a better employer, but on scanning the EditScript forum and the web, I found indications that people with other eScription-contracted accounts and companies were having similar experiences, both having trouble making the money they had before and with accounts moving offshore, so I went looking for a job with a company that was not involved with eScription, even though EditScript is a wonderful program, my favorite of all the platforms I've worked on. My personal experience was in early 2007. Now that eScription and editing itself are more established in the market, maybe counts and incomes have stabilized with the MTSOs that work with it, but I'd get assurance of that before I committed.

RNs are people oriented [2008-08-25]
MT is not as easy as most RNs think. They feel with their advanced degrees they can sit down and plug in with no problem as they have the education, experience and medical terminology. NOT!!!! It takes years to be a good MT no matter what walk of life you come from.